Handball glove



Aug. 15, 1933. H, R JONES 1,922,095

HANDBALL GLOVE Filed July 13, 1952 Patented Aug. 15, 1933 UNiTED STATESPATENT OFFICE? HANDBALL GLOVE Harry R. Jones, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application July 13, 1932. Serial No. 622,287

1 Claim.

This invention relates to gloves of the kind used in playing handball.

I have found that in hand ball gloves, it is very desirable to have thepalm portion of the glove, with which the ball is struck so formed thatthe portions thereof with which the ball is struck are formed withoutseams and made so as to snugly fit the hand, particularly at the wristportion. If the glove fits the hand loosely so that folds can form, orif seams are formed on the portion of the glove with which the ball isstruck, the seams deflect the ball so that the ball does not bound fromthe hand at the same angle that it would bound if no seam were present.

The objects of this invention are to provide a hand ball glove in whichthe palm portion of the glove is made seamless, and in which the gloveis so formed as to fit snugly on the hand particularly at the wristportion thereof, also to provide a glove of this kind in which theseveral parts of the gloveare so cut that the glove fits snugly aroundthe wrist without forming creases or wrinkles at any part of the glove;also to improve hand ball gloves in other respects hereinafterspecified.

in the accompanying drawing:

l is a view of the palm portion of a glove embodying this inventionapplied to a hand;

Fig. 2 is a rear view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a rear view of the glove before the same is tightened at thewrist;

Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are respectively the palm portion, back and thumb pieceof a glove before the same are sewn together, these figures being on areduced scale.

10 represents the palm portion of the glove which may have extensions 11and 12, which form the palm portions of the small finger and indexfinger respectively, and 14 represents a portion which forms the palmportion of the thumb. These parts of the palm portion may be the same asheretofore made in connection with various types of gloves, such forexample as work gloves, the palm portions of the two middle fingersbeing formed from separate pieces 15 and 16. In gloves heretofore made,this palm portion was cut in such a manner that it was of the same widthat the wrist portion as at the middle portion, the broken lines 17indicating how this out was heretofore generally made. This was done forthe reason that with gloves of this type, the wrist portion of the glovehad to be of approximately the same girth a as the middle or widestportions of the glove,

since otherwise a hand could not have been inserted into the glove. Suchgloves when used in playing hand ball can only be kept on the hand bymeans of bands or straps extending around the wrist portion, and whichgather the wrist portion of the glove into folds or creases which arevery objectionable in hand ball gloves, since such creases are not onlyuncomfortable to the wearer, but furthermore, if they occur in the palmportion of the wrist, cause the ball to bound at an incorrect'angle.Inaccordance with this invention, the palm portion of the glove is cutat a decided angle approximately along the line 18 in Fig. 4, thusproducing a Ordinarily, this thumb piece which at the wrist as at themiddle portion of the thumb,

this thumb piece 20 usually being cut as indicated by the broken line 21in Fig. 6. In accordance with my invention, this thumb piece is cut at adecided angle approximately along line 22, thus tapering toward thewrist and leaving" a narrow part 24 at the wrist portion of the thumbpiece.

27 represents the back of the glove which is cut somewhat like glovesheretofore made, and preferably has perforations for ventilation, asshown, and is provided with an opening 28 extending from the Wristportion to approximately the middle portion of the back of the hand.Openings have heretofore been used in connection with hand ball andbaseball gloves for ventilating purposes, but in my improved glove,

I have designed the opening so as to admit the .31

hand and at the same time constructed the opening so that when the strapis drawn up, the glove fits snugly around the wrist and back of the handso that there is no gather or lapover of material on any part of theback of the glove. 311

This improvement which is possible in spite of the fact that the girthof the glove at the wrist is less than at the wider portions of thehand, since the opening permits the wrist portion of the glove to beopened or enlarged separating the material at the opposite sides of theopening, as clearly shown in Fig. 3, so that the hand can be readilyinserted into the glove.

The glove may be fastened on the hand by as a pair of straps 30 and 31,connected by any usual or suitable means, such for example means of abuckle 32, the end of one of the straps being sewn into the seam betweenthe thumb and the back of the hand, and the other strap being sewn intothe seam between the palm portion and back of the hand. This fasteningdevice enables the wrist portion of the glove to be drawn snugly aroundthe wrist of the wearer without forming wrinkles or creases in anyportion of the wrist or back of the hand. Fastening devices of any otherkind may be employed in place of those shown.

By cutting the parts of the glove as described, the thumb and palmportions are connected by means of a seam 34 near the edge of the palmportion on a part of the hand with which the hand ball is not struck,thus making it possible to reduce the width of the wrist portion of apalm of the glove without causing inaccuracy in the bounce of the ballfrom the hand. By reducing the width of the wrist parts of the palm andthumb portions, the glove is formed so that it will fit snugly over thewrist portion of the hand without interfering with the fit of any otherportion of the glove. If it were attempted to reduce the girth of theglove at the wrist portion without reducing the width of the wristportionsof the palm and thumb, the resulting glove would not fit thehand properly and would prevent the free flexing of the thumb andfingers, and thus decidedly interfere with the utility of the glove. Theconstruction described takes advantage of the opening in the back of theglove to form a glove fitting snugly around the wrist and capable ofbeing placed on the hand.

By making a relatively large cut out at the back of the glove, whichdoes not extend inwardly beyond the widest part of the hand, and byproviding a snug fit of the glove at the wrist when the strap istightened, the pulling of the glove around the wrist results in ageneral tightening of the glove on the hand and also in a snug fit ofthe glove at the back of the hand. This is important in that it preventsshifting of the glove on the hand, as would happen, for example, when aplayer cuts the ball, or hits it with the hand at an angle to the dircction of travel of the ball, in which case the glove, if looselyfitting, would shift sidewise on the hand and thus interfere with theaccuracy of the return of the ball. I-Ieretofore hand ball gloves havegenerally fitted loosely around the wrist and overlap or gather at theback of the hand was consequently immaterial, but with my improved gloveit is very desirable to avoid gathers or overlap because of discomfortto the wearer when the glove is fitted tightly around the wrist, andalso because such gather would interfere with the secure holding of theglove on the hand. 7

The term girth herein employed is intended to indicate the measurementaround the glove,

and in case of the girth of the glove at the wrist,

the gap at the cut-out portion 28 is not included in such measurement.

I claim as my invention:

A hand ball glove having a palm portion and a thumb portion, said palmportion being made of a seamless piece of material covering the entirepalm of the hand from the base of the fingers to the wrist, said palmportion and thumb portion of the glove being of less width at the wristportions thereof than at other portions to form a glove having a girthat the wrist portion which is materially less than the girth at themiddle portion of the hand, the back of the glove having an openingextending from the wrist portion approximately to the middle portion ofthe back of the hand, and means for drawing the wrist portion of theglove into snugfitting relation to the hand without folding the materialof said wrist portion.

HARRY R. JONES.

